Since I'm not only a quilter, but also an elementary school teacher, certain materials got WAY out of hand for me. I used to be really good about throwing things out, but then had to repurchase many of them & that cost me a lot of money and time; plus, some items weren't sold any more. So I went 180 degrees the other direction - not good!
I hired a professional organizer 2 years ago & it was life-changing. She came maybe 6 times over the course of a year and helped me set priorities. If it's expensive or especially meaningful (e.g., letters from my students or that one fabric that I try to work into each quilt I make for family members -- even if just in a small bit of applique), then it goes in the bins first. After that, I add in whatever I'm currently working on. Finally, I can put whatever else will fit in the bins. If it doesn't fit, something needs to go. No new bins unless I throw out a current one. She helped me make labels and lists for each bin so I know what's in it. A lot of professional organizers are part organizer-part therapist.
One nice thing I've found for fabric that I just don't have time to do anything with (or don't have money to buy the other items I need to finish a quilt) is to make quilt kits for Downy Quilts for Kids. Our local chapter collects them & matches them up with quilters that have time but either don't have money for decent fabric (like high school or college kids) or with people who hate cutting. Another option one of my neighbors found was to just throw a bunch of scraps in a box, snap a few photos and sell it on the cheap through Craig's List or eBay. She felt really badly parting with her fabric at the time, but then used the money to buy gift certificates for each of her grandchildren for their favorite spots and said the joy on their faces more than made up for the bit of sadness over parting with her stores of fabric. She got everything down to 3 storage tubs, enough to make a quilt for a friend and a few for family members that wanted them.
Best wishes with your efforts to pare down your stash! I know it can be hard, but in the end life is so much happier.
